It's the second week of the #MissionSamsung Blogger challenge and after the first mission of the viewing party went well, the competition just got a whole lot hotter! ...well sweatier. In this weeks challenge contestants were asked to download one of the many fitness apps on the Samsung Smart hub and choose from a variety of exercise programmes to partake in. Seemed simple enough right? Well, it was, to a certain extent, here's why.
Most of us go to gym regularly, or at least try to go to gym, as with many of us leading busy lifestyles we find it hard to get in that balance of work and exercise. When we do manage to get into the gym, it is often very busy and one finds them self spending more time queueing to use a machine than actually getting a work out done. Then there is the personal trainers, we see them at the gym, we know they would be helpful in our quest to lose those extra kilo's but it is always daunting to go for a session with them in fear of us dying on the gym floor. What if I told you, that you could have your own personal trainer at home?
Day 1
Well with the fitness app on Samsung's LED Smart TV, that is exactly what you are getting! Once downloaded, all you have to do is input your details and your measurements, including weight. The app then calculates your BMI. From there you can set yourself goals, my goal was to loose a kg of weight in 8 days. It calculated an 8 step program which required me to burn just over 1100 calories with various exercise routines. One step 1 per day, equalled to three 20 minute videos which helped me burn approximately 65 calories per video. The videos were great, each of them starts off with a mild warm up and works their way into a rigorous workout, by the end of it you will be enjoying it so much that you actually forget about the intense workout you're getting!
Day 2
After the success of day 1, I was keen to get onto day 2! Well first I had to get out of bed! You see, my gym routines has remained the same over the past 3 years so I was only focusing on a few areas of my body, with this 8 step program, it focuses on every aspect of your body so the next day, muscles that I never knew existed were telling me hello! Never the less, I soldiered on through the day and was ready for the next step. The cool thing about the app, is that it updates the number of calories you've burned while doing the various videos. So you can track the progress you're making.
Day 3
Getting used to the sore muscles and convincing myself that it is a good thing, getting up on the 3rd day was much more rewarding but after a stressful day at the office, I was not in the mood to continue with the program that was chosen for me but the great thing with the fitness app is that you can break away from the routine and opt to do something else. So I tried out some Yoga, the thing is, if I had gone to the gym, I would NEVER chosen to do Yoga, firstly the classes are at times I am simply not available and by doing it at home in the comfort and privacy of my own home, I didn't have to worry about making an ass of myself trying to pull off some moves. I was quite blow away by the many videos available, from beginner level all the way up to master level. It really was a great experience and will definitely try it again.
The thing that stood out for me was the workout you get from these programmes, I for one never did buy into the whole exercise TV thing and always felt the need to go out to the gym to get the workout you needed. After these past 3 days I can safely say it was more intense than any work I've had before, even though I might burn more calories at gym on a daily basis, I could feel the muscles in my body getting the work, getting tighter and of course, feeling the pain the next day but as I got to realise it was a good pain. The challenge might be over but I am definitely going to continue with the exercise routine for as long as I got the TV.
PS: I opted for the video the trainer which does use up a lot of bandwidth, there are other training programs that do not require video downloads that one can train along with.
